Mark Warburton could replace Dan Ashworth

West Bromwich Albion believed to have held talks with Brentford sporting director Mark Warburton to replace Dan Ashworth

West Bromwich Albion are looking at Brentford’s Mark Warburton as they aim to finally replace departing sporting and technical director Dan Ashworth.

The highly-rated Bees sporting director is believed to have held talks with the Baggies about taking over the soon-to-be vacant post and is thought to be considering an offer.

Significant inroads were expected this week as the Baggies edge closer towards finding the correct candidate to take the club forward so the timing comes as no great shock.

What may be a surprise to some is the pursuit of Warburton, who can easily be seen simply as a League One employee.

Granted, he may not be a high-profile figure in the footballing world having gone quietly about his business in the third tier of English football for the past two seasons.

But, the former City trader and ex-Watford academy manager has been gradually making a name for himself in recent years.

Aside from his duties at Griffin Park he is best known for being the co-founder of the NextGen series - an Under 19s tournament dubbed the Champions League for youngsters.

His vision for spotting and improving young players is impressive and has not gone un-noticed by the Baggies.

At Watford he worked his way up from part-time coach to academy manager where he established the Harefield Academy and helped the Hornets become the first English professional club to combine full-time academic learning and football.

And at Brentford, Warbuton is an active figure who regularly updates supporters on activities at the club through his match-day programme column.

His knowledge and expertise of the game are clear to see so it’s little surprise that his reputation is continuing to grow.

Before taking up his current role he worked as Brentford’s first-team coach and was seen as a highly motivational figure.

Although the role at Albion would not require such skills, the hands-on experience of dealing with players on a day-to-day basis would be an advantage.

Albion are keen to get a replacement in before Ashworth departs so that he can spend time working alongside the recruitment chief who has helped transform the club into an established top-flight force.

Ashworth has worked hard to help support the search for his successor and may aid the club further by remaining at The Hawthorns during the January transfer window.His contract is up in July although he is expected to exit before then.

Joining a club like Albion is an attractive proposition especially with the team flying so high in the Premier League.

Boss Steve Clarke is delighted with the season so far, despite back-to-back defeats last week, and has promised to remain positive going into the Christmas period.

“There’s no way we can allow negative thoughts to come into our heads,” he said.

“If I’d have said to you at the start of last week that we’d go to Sunderland and draw, Swansea and draw and then had a scrappy draw with Stoke, you would have said that’s not too bad.

“We took three points from last week so that could have been three draws.

“My philosophy is to try and win games but if those games had been three draws everyone would have been impressed.